About

Laixiang Sun is a Professor in the Department of Geographical Sciences at the University of Maryland (UMD). His research spans regional science and regional economics, environmental science and management, ecological economics, and development economics. He has authored more than 240 publications, including articles in prominent journals such as Nature, PNAS, Nature Sustainability, Nature Food, Nature Water, Nature Cities, and Nature Communications. His work often focuses on climate change mitigation and adaptation, land cover and land use change, carbon and vegetation dynamics, and landscape-scale processes, integrating geospatial information science and remote sensing. Professor Sun has served as Chair Professor and Head of the Department of Financial and Management Studies at SOAS University of London and as a Senior Economist at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Austria. He was elected a Fellow (Academician) of the Academy of Social Sciences in February 2010. His extensive research has been supported by over 30 projects funded by organizations such as the European Commission, NASA, the British Academy, Royal Society, and various Chinese institutions. He has taught more than 20 university courses across China, the Netherlands, Finland, the UK, and the USA, covering topics including systems analysis, economics, econometrics, urban geography, and international business. His work bridges science and decision-making, emphasizing integrated modelling, spatial economics, and ecological considerations.

Research topics

• Economics
• Environmental science
• Geology
• Water resource management
• Geography
• Business
• Natural resource economics
• Ecology
• Agronomy

Selected publications

• Rising agricultural water scarcity in China is driven by expansion of irrigated cropland in water scarce regions

  One Earth · 2022 · 143 citations

  • Water resource management
  • Environmental science
  • Geography
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A review of trends and drivers of greenhouse gas emissions by sector from 1990 to 2018

  Environmental Research Letters · 2021 · 1100 citations

  • Environmental science
  • Natural resource economics
  • Business

  Abstract Global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can be traced to five economic sectors: energy, industry, buildings, transport and AFOLU (agriculture, forestry and other land uses). In this topical review, we synthesise the literature to explain recent trends in global and regional emissions in each of these sectors. To contextualise our review, we present estimates of GHG emissions trends by sector from 1990 to 2018, describing the major sources of emissions growth, stability and decline across ten global regions. Overall, the literature and data emphasise that progress towards reducing GHG emissions has been limited. The prominent global pattern is a continuation of underlying drivers with few signs of emerging limits to demand, nor of a deep shift towards the delivery of low and zero carbon services across sectors. We observe a moderate decarbonisation of energy systems in Europe and North America, driven by fuel switching and the increasing penetration of renewables. By contrast, in rapidly industrialising regions, fossil-based energy systems have continuously expanded, only very recently slowing down in their growth. Strong demand for materials, floor area, energy services and travel have driven emissions growth in the industry, buildings and transport sectors, particularly in Eastern Asia, Southern Asia and South-East Asia. An expansion of agriculture into carbon-dense tropical forest areas has driven recent increases in AFOLU emissions in Latin America, South-East Asia and Africa. Identifying, understanding, and tackling the most persistent and climate-damaging trends across sectors is a fundamental concern for research and policy as humanity treads deeper into the Anthropocene.

  DOI

Frequent coauthors

• Klaus Hubacek

  University of Groningen

  167 shared

• Kuishuang Feng

  University of Maryland, College Park

  137 shared

• Zhan Tian

  Xiyuan Hospital

  132 shared

• Honglin Zhong

  Qinghai Normal University

  66 shared

• Junguo Liu

  Southern University of Science and Technology

  41 shared

• Günther Fischer

  International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis

  38 shared

• Dandan Zhao

  Jilin Normal University

  38 shared

• Zhuoran Liang

  Zhejiang Meteorological Bureau

  37 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Geography

  University of Maryland

  2002

• M.S., Geography

  University of Maryland

  1998

• B.S., Geography

  Nanjing University

  1995

Awards & honors

• Fellow (Academician) of the Academy of Social Sciences (2010…

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